A bit of musical theatre written by Abe Burrows, with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser, which was first staged in 1961. It's based on a book by Shepherd Mead, which had the subtitle "[[FauxToGuide The Dastard's Guide to Fame and Fortune]]." The show takes a similar tone.

The story starts out with a kid named J. Pierrepont Finch, a window-washer at the World Wide Wicket company (no, that's not a StealthPun, this was TheSixties). He's reading from the eponymous book, quotes from which are often provided by a disembodied Narrator. After a CrashIntoHello with the president of the company, Finch gets a proper job. Now, with only advice from the book, {{Indy Ploy}}s and a TwinkleSmile to aid him, Finch must work his way up the corporate ladder, with the help and/or opposition of (amongst others): Bud Frump, nephew of WWW current president J.B. Biggley; FemmeFatale Hedy [=LaRue=], who is having an affair with Biggley but causes [[HelloNurse instant attraction]] from just about any male character; Rosemary Pilkington, his LoveInterest; and his own plans and schemes, which have a tendency to [[GoneHorriblyRight Go Horribly Right]].

TheMovie version starring Robert Morse, Rudy Vallee, and Sammy Smith (reprising their respective roles of Finch, Mr. Biggly, and Mr.Twimble/Wally Whomper from the Broadway original) came out in '67. The show was revived on Broadway in '95 with Creator/MatthewBroderick as Finch and Creator/WalterCronkite reading the book, for which Broderick won a Lead Actor Tony. Its 50th-anniversary revival in 2011 starred DanielRadcliffe of ''Film/HarryPotter'' fame. In what may be a CastingGag, Radcliffe was replaced by DarrenCriss, of ''Series/{{Glee}}'' and ''AVeryPotterMusical'', in January 2012 for a two week run, to be replaced again by NickJonas.

----!!This musical contains examples of the following:

* AffectionateParody: "Rosemary" is one of "Maria" from ''WestSideStory''--not only do they sound the same and involve (roughly) the same name, but Finch has the same overreaction that Tony does... without even getting a kiss!%% * AllMusicalsAreAdaptations* AmbiguouslyGay: Frump can come off as this, especially in the movie** Given that [[MatchGame Charles Nelson Reilly]] originated the part on Broadway, this shouldn't be a surprise.* AntiHero: Finch, the protagonist, while thoroughly charming, is a conniving backstabber willing to do anything to climb the corporate ladder.* BasedOnAnAdviceBook: Well, [[FauxToGuide sort of.]]* BetaCouple: Hedy and JB, who actually have more problems than the OfficialCouple.* BettyAndVeronica: Rosemary and Hedy for Finch%% * BookEnds* BrainlessBeauty: Hedy [=LaRue=]* BrickJoke: Venezuela. When the head of Finch's department, Mr. Gatch, is caught with Hedy and Finch takes over the office, someone calls and asks where Gatch went. Finch replies that he's been transferred to an out-of-town office, and concludes the call with "Venezuela!". And when Hedy corners him in J.B.'s office, she hits on him says that he's going places, to which he replies, "yeah, Venezuela!"* ButtMonkey: Bud Frump, the CEO's nephew.%% * CannotTellALie: Hedy%% * {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Rosemary* CounterpointDuet: "I Believe In You"%% * CrowdSong%% * DanceLine* DelusionsOfEloquence: "It is I whom am late."* TheDitz: Hedy* DoubleVision: The parts of Mr. Twimble and Wally Whomper are usually played by the same actor.* DressesTheSame: "Paris Original" takes this to its logical extent by having ''all'' the secretaries walk into a company party wearing the same gown.%%* FavouritismFlipFlop* FauxToGuide: The titular guide.* FemmeFatale: Hedy* FirstGirlWins: Rosemary* FootballFightSong: "Grand Old Ivy", sung by Finch and Biggly as Finch is pretending he went to Biggly's alma mater.* FourthDateMarriage: Slightly justified, since it is the sixties, but still. Finch realizes he's in love with Rosemary and proposes to her on the spot. Of course, then it's then subverted by Hedy showing up and Rosemary leaving Finch almost immediately, so... (Of course, then that's subverted by Rosemary coming back in to chase Hedy off and kisses Finch again.)* GenderNeutralNarrator* GoldDigger: All of the women, as exemplified by "Cinderella, Darling"* GospelRevivalNumber: "Brotherhood Of Man"* GrandeDame: Mr. Biggly's secretary, Miss Jones, has some affinities with the type.* GuileHero: Finch, Finch, Finch.* HelloNurse: Hedy* IAmGreatSong: "I Believe in You", the first version, where Finch sings it to himself.* LoveEpiphany: "Rosemary". Strangely, Finch has this while kissing another woman. * MaleGaze: Hedy inspires them. * ManipulativeBastard: '''''FINCH'''''. And also Frump, but he's...[[SmugSnake not]] [[ButtMonkey quite]] as successful. * TheMatchmaker: Smitty, for Rosemary and Finch.* {{Meganekko}}: Smitty* MickeyMousing: "Gotta Stop That Man"** Specifically, the orchestra imitates the sound of an electric razor by playing the tune ''on kazoos.''* MirrorMonologue: Finch sings "I Believe In You" to his reflection in the executive washroom mirror.%%* TheMusical* MustHaveCaffeine: "Coffee Break"* NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: He's not just Pierrepont Finch, he's ''J.'' Pierrepont Finch.* {{Nepotism}}: Budd Frump; bonus points for actually being a nephew (the root of the word "nepotism")* NonActorVehicle: both played straight and ''inverted''. The role of Finch involves as much acting as singing, not to mention some dancing, and skill in one can compensate for lack of ability in the other. This is part of why it's a popular show for high-school theatre (or amongst film actors trying to break into Broadway).* TheQuietOne: Miss Jones, until "Brotherhood of Man."* [[ReassignedToAntarctica Reassigned To Venezuela]]: The fate of anyone whom Mr. Biggley finds with Hedy.%% * RepeatWhatYouJustSaid* RhythmTypewriter: "A Secretary Is Not A Toy"* RunningGag: "I'm J. Pierrepont Finch, F-I-N-C-H."%% * SexySecretary* SexyWalk: Hedy's gets its own music cue.* ShoutOut: Hedy Larue in the 2010 revival looks quite a bit like another [[Series/MadMen gorgeous redhead secretary from the same time period]]...* SillyLoveSongs: Every Broadway musical is required to include at least one, and this show's silly love is "I Believe In You"; it's sung twice, first by J. Pierrepont Finch [[AcquiredSituationalNarcissism to himself]], and then by Rosemary as a pep talk when it looks like everything has gone wrong and J. Pierpont is probably going to get fired.* StepfordSmiler: Rosemary looks like she's going to become one (see her EstablishingCharacterMoment, "Happy To Keep His Dinner Warm"). This is clearly played for laughs. It's a tongue-in-cheek portrayal of a 60's housewife.* SweaterGirl: The book advises ladies in the office to use this rather than skin-baring clothes.* TwinkleSmile: Which doubles as an AsideGlance.* ValuesDissonance: [[invoked]] Invoked and {{Lampshaded}} in a recent Broadway production. When some of the misogyny was booed, Alan Cumming snapped to the audience, "Hey, it was TheFifties!" That ThrowItIn line became used in every performance of the run since.----